The University of Missouri Police Department (MUPD) is the primary

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

for the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

(Mizzou), a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research university located in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and the flagship campus of the

University of Missouri System The University of Missouri System is an American state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, and ten research and technology parks. Nearly 70,000 students are cur ...

. The agency's primary jurisdiction is the University of Missouri owned locations, which includes the main campus plus other MU-owned or leased facilities, such as Mizzou North (the former

Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Ellis Fischel Cancer Center is a member of University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, Missouri. It was the first free-standing cancer center west of the Mississippi River and the second such institution of its kind in the United States. The ...

) on Business Loop 70,

KOMU-TV KOMU-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving the Columbia–Jefferson City market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station's studios and transmitter are located on US 63 southeast ...

U.S. Route 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US ...

, and various MU-operated land and facilities scattered throughout Columbia and the State of Missouri.The Justice League
, '' Columbia Business Times'' MU Police Officers have statewide jurisdiction, and also are commissioned through the City of Columbia. MU Police Officers have the ability to make an arrest anywhere within the State of Missouri as well as enforce city ordinances in Columbia, MO.

History

The agency was established as the "Traffic Safety and Security Department" in 1954. It became a 24-hour agency in 1964MUPD History
/ref> and began sending officers to the

Missouri State Highway Patrol The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) is the highway patrol agency for Missouri and has jurisdiction all across the state. It is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Colonel Eric T. Olson has been serving as the 24th supe ...

's Basic Police Academy during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. It became the University of Missouri Police Department in September 1971. The agency has been accredited by the

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) is a credentialing authority (accreditation), based in the United States, whose primary mission is to accredit public safety agencies, namely law enforcement agencies, trai ...

since 2001. Reports from the MU Police Department, along with the Columbia Police Department, were featured as part of two 2014

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'', or also referred to as ''OTL'', is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in mostly American sports on and off the field of play. The primary host of the show is ...

'' investigations that focused on errors in how the university handled

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

cases. The MU Police Department was also at the center of media attention during the 2015-16 University of Missouri protests, which resulted in the resignations of the president of the

and the chancellor of the flagship Columbia campus. In 2015, former Major Doug Schwandt was promoted to Chief of Police for the

. In 2020, Schwandt retired as Chief, and Major Brian Weimer was promoted as Interim Chief. As of February 2021, the university is still conducting its search process for a new Chief of Police.

Organization

Department units

MUPD operates the following department units: * Patrol Division * Investigations * Emergency Management * Accreditation * Purchasing * Communications * Records * Security Services * Campus Safety Officers * Property (Evidence/Lost & Found) * Crime Prevention * Clery Reporting

Commissioned/sworn positions

MUPD uses the following ranks:

Equipment

The department's vehicle fleet consists of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

vehicles, mainly the

Utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...

(based on the

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

). MUPD also has several unmarked, undercover vehicles.MU, other police agencies exchange Crown Victoria sedans for SUVs
''

Columbia Missourian The ''Columbia Missourian'' is a digital-first newspaper based in Columbia, Missouri, published online seven days a week and in print five days a week. The newspaper is affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism, and is owned as a 501c3 no ...

'' MUPD also uses

Police bicycle A police bicycle is a bicycle used by police forces, most commonly in the form of a mountain bicycle, used to patrol areas inaccessible to police cars or cover a wider area than an officer on foot. Bicycle patrols are often assigned to locations ...

s and utility vehicles to patrol the internal workings of the main campus as well as downtown Columbia. The standard issue sidearm is the

Smith & Wesson M&P The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer- framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. Whil ...

References

External links

University of Missouri Police Department
{{Mizzou, campus University of Missouri

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

School police departments of Missouri Government of Columbia, Missouri 1954 establishments in Missouri